The Bailiwick of Ennerdale Est 1251 - Hon. George Mentz JD MBA CWM

 

 

From the comparative record, the Bailiwick & Liberty of Ennerdale stands as the most independent alienated jurisdiction of its kind within the UK.

Unlike the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey or the Isle of Man, which are retained by the Crown as self-governing dependencies, Ennerdale was formally sold in fee simple by both King and Parliament in 1822 to the Earl of Lonsdale, transferring not only land but the liberty, bailiwick, and former royal forest outright into private ownership.

This transaction, backed by statutory authority, permanently removed Ennerdale from Crown possession while preserving its identity as a historic liberty with court leet and other manorial incidents, even though the practical exercise of judicial powers is now curtailed by modern law.

No other surviving UK liberty, bailiwick, or palatinate combines private freehold ownership, documented Parliamentary alienation, and historic jurisdictional status, making Ennerdale a singular constitutional and manorial anomaly.

 

 

 

The Bailiwick & Liberty of Ennerdale: A Rare Independent Jurisdiction in Private Hands

The Bailiwick & Liberty of Ennerdale is not simply a manorial estate. It is an alienated jurisdiction — a liberty and bailiwick once held directly by the Crown — sold outright in 1822 by King and Parliament to the Earl of Lonsdale. This transaction transferred not only land, but the full proprietary and jurisdictional package attached to the royal forest and liberty of Ennerdale.

1. Higher Rights Than Almost All Manors in England

Most manors in England today are freehold estates without significant surviving jurisdictional powers. By contrast, Ennerdale was historically outside the control of the county sheriff, having its own courts, officers, and administrative machinery. Its conveyance in fee simple by both Crown and Parliament made it wholly independent in title — a situation that exists in no other privately held liberty in the country. This elevates Ennerdale above ordinary manorial status, making it more comparable in concept to a small palatinate than to a standard manor.

2. Powers of Seals, Stamps, and Endorsements

As a functioning liberty and bailiwick in its historical form, Ennerdale could issue its own writs, proclamations, and official acts authenticated under a jurisdictional seal. The right to create and use such a seal passed with the liberty itself. While in modern times this carries symbolic rather than statutory effect, the heritage authority to affix seals and endorsements to documents or ceremonial instruments remains intact.

3. Right to Hold Fairs and Markets

Many liberties enjoyed the grant or prescription to hold fairs and markets, a civic and economic privilege overseen by the jurisdiction’s officers. These events were both commercial gatherings and occasions to assert the liberty’s governance. Such rights, if existing prior to 1822, would have transferred with the sale and remain part of the bailiwick’s historic incidents.

4. Appointment of Officers, Captains, Ambassadors, and Barons

The lord of a liberty could appoint a wide range of officers — bailiffs, stewards, constables, serjeants, and captains — to manage local governance and defense. In certain liberties, honorary or functional titles such as “barons” of the liberty were recognized in relation to its courts or its parliamentary history. Ennerdale’s owner may still appoint honorary captains, envoys, or barons for ceremonial, representational, or charitable roles, much like ancient orders or universities appoint fellows or honorary officers.

5. Independent Administrative Identity

Because the Bailiwick & Liberty of Ennerdale was permanently alienated from Crown control by both sovereign and Parliament, it retains an administrative identity distinct from the county structure that once surrounded it. While statutory reforms have centralized public law functions, the title and dignity of Ennerdale as a separate liberty survive as real incidents of the freehold — a privilege that places it above almost all manorial holdings in England.

 

 

Ennerdale in a completely different legal category from the vast majority of manors, liberties, and royal forests.

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1. Most Liberties Were Crown Grants or Patents

• Normal case:
  Liberties, franchises, or forests were held under letters patent, charters, or royal grants from the Crown. These remained Crown property in ultimate right — meaning Parliament could alter, revoke, or absorb them simply by changing the law.

• Result:
  Legislation like the Municipal Corporations Acts, Law of Property Acts, or various court reforms could (and often did) abolish or limit their powers without compensation.

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2. Ennerdale Is a Fee Simple Alienation

• Unique case:
  In 1821–1822, the Bailiwick, Liberty, Manor, and Royal Forest of Ennerdale — with its courts, franchises, and regalian incidents — was sold outright by both the Crown and Parliament.

• Fee Simple means:

  • No reversion to the Crown.

  • The jurisdictional rights are private property, not a delegated office.

  • Parliament would have to specifically legislate to take it back and provide compensation under constitutional property law principles.

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3. Effect on Later Legislation

Because Ennerdale’s rights are alienated property and not merely Crown concessions:

• Generic reforms to manors, liberties, boroughs, and courts that refer to “franchises granted by the Crown” do not automatically apply — unless the wording explicitly includes alienated jurisdictions.

• Statutes abolishing manorial incidents (e.g., Law of Property Act 1922) might still affect some feudal remnants (like copyhold), but they wouldn’t erase the jurisdiction itself, because it is tied to a property conveyance ratified by Parliament.

• Court reform laws that close or replace local courts would need to explicitly extinguish an alienated court leet — and I have not found any such targeted provision for Ennerdale.

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4. Practical Meaning

Since no later statute expressly names or abolishes the Bailiwick of Ennerdale’s court leet or forest liberty, then:

• The legal title to that jurisdiction still exists.

• If a regular manor, it may be “dormant” in exercise due to modern policing and court systems, but it is not extinguished.

• The owner has convened the court and appointed officers under the surviving authority of the 1822 alienation that was sanctioned by the Crown and Commissioners/Parliament.

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